For Hounds, dealing with Sproul's absence anything but easy

But with Ryan Sproul injured, the Soo Greyhounds standings-climbing quest just got an awful lot more difficult.

Talented, minutes-eating defencemen are like currency in the OHL.

You can often find ways to compensate for the loss of a top forward.

But holes on defence can be like craters.

They aren't easily patched, something the Hounds are likely to find out over the next 6-8 weeks.

That's the time frame the second-year rearguard is expected to miss after suffering a fractured jaw, late in Wednesday's 6-3 win over Sarnia here.

The 18-year-old Sproul was hit in the face by a deflected puck with 3:52 to go in the third period and left the ice immediately.

A CT Scan was performed at Sault Area Hospital, where Sproul spent the night.

His parents, Phil and Paulette, just happened to be in attendance at the game.

Thursday morning, they drove their son back to the family's Mississauga home, where he was to see an oral surgeon later that day.

Though unavailable for comment, on his Twitter account Thursday morning Sproul said: "Slept in the hospital last night, left at 5 a.m. to drive 7 hours home and go right to surgery."

Hounds athletic therapist Richard Rotenberg said the fracture was "pretty common" and likely either a plate would be inserted into the jaw, or the jaw would be wired to provide stability.

Either way, it's a terrible break (please pardon the pun) for a kid who was playing some outstanding hockey.

Owner of a booming shot, Sproul is also a wonderful skater who's improved defensively this season. And he plays a key role on the Hounds power play.

A second-round draft choice of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings this year, Sproul

has 10 goals and 16 assists in 37 games. The six-foot-three, 190-pounder is also a team-leading plus-17.

None of those numbers will be easy to replace.

At least until rookie defenceman Darnell Nurse returns from the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Windsor, Sproul's spot in the lineup will be taken by Mac Clutsam, a signed player and one of the club's seventh-round draft choices this year.

Clutsam, who's been skating for the Elmira Sugar Kings of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, played his fourth game in a Hounds uniform Thursday night against Belleville here.

He's slated to play for the Hounds Saturday in Saginaw and Wednesday, when London visits Essar Centre.

Now, one of the first things that comes to mind is the possibility of a trade providing a body to help the Hounds through a stretch of between 14-20 games without Sproul.

"It's hockey and these things happen," Dubas, whose team is also without injured winger Andrew Fritsch, said Thursday. "Every team goes through these things. What this does is give other guys an opportunity."

Speaking of opportunity, considering the type of player he is, the name which immediately comes to mind is that of second-year defenceman Gianluca Curcuruto.

Although he's gone through kind of an up-and-down season, Curcuruto possesses many of the same skills as Sproul does.

He's a strong skater and, as a midget-aged player, Curcuruto owned a dangerous shot. He was coming off of a 38-goal season for the Mississauga Reps when the Hounds made him their first-round draft choice (14th overall) in 2010.

While still developing, Curcuruto hasn't always played with confidence this season. We've seen only flashes of the offensive skill set the 17-year-old possesses.

Maybe the added responsibility and ice time he'll now receive will speed the maturation process of a player expected to go in the early part of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft?

The Greyhounds certainly hope so.

Because successfully overcoming Sproul's absence is surely a daunting challenge.